Daniel Galvin: Hairdresser to the stars

Celebrity hairdresser Daniel Galvin celebrates 50 years in the business and talks about his star clients, from Diana, Princess of Wales to Twiggy and Margaret Thatcher

BY Bryony Gordon |
20 April 2009

Hairdresser Daniel Galvin at his London salon

It is quite easy to miss the London salon of Daniel Galvin, colourist to the stars, because it looks more like a five-star hotel than it does a hairdresser. Outside there is an awning over the door; I feel a palpable sense of disappointment that there is not a man in a top hat to greet visitors. No matter, for inside, at a giant marble reception desk, sits a woman in a sleek back suit and perfect make-up who directs you to the - wait for it - cloakroom. Over the cloakroom attendant's shoulder I can see hangers of beautiful coats and big, yellow Selfridge's shopping bags.

Orchids abound, as do plush leather sofas. There is a bar serving smoothies and a kitchen offering exotic creations such as salmon skewers and a salad of butternut squash, chicken and spiced pear with a cinnamon chilli dressing. I opted for a club sandwich - a snip at £13.95.

But then to Galvin's clients, who have included Madonna and Diana, Princess of Wales, that is small change. Some of them have already spent £100 on a haircut; others £500 on highlights. I spot a woman having her hair washed; on the seat next to her is her tiny pug dog. I overhear another client (here, you are always a client, never a customer) talking about her friend Kevin. A little extra eavesdropping reveals that Kevin's surname is Costner.

It is only Tuesday afternoon but the place is packed with glossy women being primped and preened by Galvin's army of staff (he has more than 100). There may be a recession outside, but in here the economy is thriving. "Maybe the odd person is letting their roots grow for longer," says Galvin. "But we haven't really seen the effects of the credit crunch."

This continued success is in part down to the hard graft of Galvin, who received an OBE in 2006 for his services to the hair industry (the salon walls are plastered with framed pictures of him receiving it from the Prince of Wales, on whose current wife he has also worked his magic).

Galvin, now 65, could be forgiven if he wanted to take his foot off the pedal, this year being his 50th in the business. Yet he is here every day, and probably will be until he dies. "I could never retire," he says. "This is my passion. Once I had to take six weeks off when I broke my ankle. On my first day back I just thought 'oh, hair!' " He mimics massaging someone's scalp and looks as if he is in heaven. "There is nothing quite like it."

Galvin looks 10 years younger than he is, despite his greying locks (he refuses to dye it because he thinks it makes him look like a "silver fox", but believes that women should always rid themselves of any grey). He has perfectly white teeth and a creosote-brown tan. Add his gold rings and his image looks rather naff, a little 1980s, but we must forgive him the folly of vanity - he is, after all, in the business of making people look good.

Anyway, the tan, he says, is fake, but it didn't used to be, a fact that used to rile his most famous client, the late Diana, Princess of Wales. "We did her hair for the last 10 years of her life," he says, sadly. "She had very nice hair. We used to send someone down to the palace every day to blow dry it. Or she'd come into the salon like everyone else. She was just so down-to-earth. A breath of fresh air."

His favourite anecdote about the Princess concerns Lindy, the salon's in-house manicurist. She came in on her day off especially to do Diana's nails. "Lindy brought in her baby, Freddie, and Princess Di said 'I'll look after him, you look after my nails!' " He chuckles at the memory. "But she used to tell me off for being brown. She'd say 'it's so bad for you, Daniel'. And I remember the last time she came in, just before she died. It was a Friday, she had been in France and she said to me 'I can't believe it, Daniel. This has got to be the first time that I am actually browner than you.'" She went back to France and died two days later. "I'm going cold just thinking about it. I went to the funeral and my God, I cried and cried."

Galvin has tended to the tresses of some very interesting heads. "Unbelievable," he gasps. "From pop stars to royalty to film stars... so many film stars, I couldn't even begin to tell you." But nevertheless, he does. When he was 20 and working for Leonard, the famous Sixties hairdresser, he was charged with doing Lauren Bacall. "I went up to her and said 'Hello Ms Bacall, I'm Daniel, what can I do for you today?' and she said 'Get me a large vodka on the rocks... NOW!' "

He admits she frightened the life out of him. As did "Mrs" Thatcher (he never calls a client by their first name - too rude, he says). "She was a bit terrifying, I can tell you." He reels off a long list of the pop stars he has done: the Beatles, the Stones, Lulu, Dusty Springfield. He was partly responsible for Twiggy chopping off her hair, thus turning her into the icon she is today. The year was 1966 and the then 16-year-old Lesley Hornby came into the Leonard salon "with ginger hair down to here", he puts a tanned hand to his waist. "Leonard chopped it all off and I spent eight hours colouring her with this 'brick work' technique that I had developed. The rest, as they say..." he smiles. "Also, that technique is now used universally."

Fifty years may seem like an awfully long time in hairdressing, but the Galvin name has actually been making a mark on the nation's scalps for more than a century. Galvin's grandfather worked at Truefitt and Hill on Bond Street. "He was the top stylist at the top salon at the time, and that time was between 1890 and 1910," he says. "When he did the hair he had to wear a top hat, tails and white cotton gloves. The maharajas would pull up in their coach and horses."

His father also went into hairdressing, owning a salon in Paddington that catered for men, women and dogs. "We had a poodle parlour in the basement," he laughs. It wasn't really a surprise that Galvin went into the industry - his brother, Joshua, did too, and Daniel's three children with his wife Mavis (they met when he was training and she was cutting hair) are all hairdressers now.

What made Galvin special was his obsession with colour. "Nobody really did it back then - they only ever used it to cover grey. But I found it fascinating, mixing different colours and seeing the hair change completely. I started picking the hair up off the floor and taking it home to experiment on."

At first, women were nervous, but slowly they saw the effect that changing their hair colour could have on their looks. As did stylists from
Vogue
, who featured his work, propelling him into the big time. He left Leonard in 1977 to open his own salon. It was on the same spot that we sit in today - but where as then it was just over 1,000 sq ft, it is now 9,000 sq ft.

Galvin still gets a thrill out of the confidence boost a woman gets from a new hairstyle. "It is my passion. Hair can make you look weaker or it can make you look stronger. You should look after it as you would the most beautiful cashmere sweater. It is a woman's ultimate beauty asset - the only thing that she never takes off."

In celebration of Daniel Galvin's 50th Anniversary, five Telegraph readers will receive an exclusive makeover consultation, colour and styling at the award winning Daniel Galvin Salon in Marylebone, London. To enter please call 0844 848 9383 and leave your name and phone number before midnight tomorrow.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

1. Details on this advertisement form part of the terms and conditions. To enter please call 0844 848 9383 and leave your name and full telephone number. Lines close at midnight on Wednesday 22nd April 2009. Calls cost 5p from BT land lines. Calls from other networks and mobiles may vary.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years and over.

3. Entries must be received by midnight on Wednesday 22 April 2009.

4. One entry per person. Late, inaudible, incomplete or corrupt entries will not be accepted.

5. The prize as described in this advertisement is available on the date of publication and is subject to availability. Five entrants will win a make-over consultation, colour treatment and styling at the Daniel Galvin Salon in Marylebone, 58-60 George Street, London W1U 7ET. The prize does not include personal expenditure and is valid Tuesday-Friday (subject to availability) with a nominated member of staff. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer.

6. The Telegraph is responsible for the publication and adjudication of this prize draw. All other facilities connected with the provision of the prize are the responsibility of the Daniel Galvin Salon. Promoter: Telegraph Media Group Limited, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT.